We are going to see if the latest browser in town – Kiwi Browser is actually better than “The Best Web Browser” – Google Chrome. Google Chrome is undoubtedly the best web browser whether its on a computer or on a smartphone. But its is not the most perfect browser out there. It does have certain flaws that needs fixing.

We have earlier seen some of the Coolest Web Browsers for Android on the website. Those browsers are really worth checking if you already haven’t done that. Google Chrome is the most widely used browser. The main reason which i found the most interesting is the Google Sync feature which lets the users sync their bookmarks, passwords, history and more across any device.

Another main thing would be the simple yet functional design of the browser itself. The homepage is pretty neat with search bars and most visited websites. Google news brings in news suggestions according to our taste and preferences. The list goes on. But today we are not going deep about Google Chrome ( I tend to write a lot when it comes to favorites).

Google Chrome is build on the Chromium Platform which is an Open source platform that is developed by Google. Many other browsers can be seen which is build on top of the Google Chromium Platform. Kiwi Browser is such a browser that is build on the Chromium project.

Kiwi Browser – an Introduction

You might be thinking that is its build is base on Google Chrome, why not stick to Google Chrome than using these browsers which is build using the Chromium project. Well Chromium is definitely a very good platform for building web browsers, but Google Chrome lacks many features. Kiwi Browser on the other hand has almost all the basic features of the Chrome browser and the best part is that developers have added some other cool features which would have made the Google chrome “The Perfect Browser”. There are lot of Chromium based browsers available to download, But the new comer( Kiwi Browser) shines the brightest among the bunch.

Kiwi Browser is created by a developer who is known by the name “arnaud42” who is Senior member of the XDA community. The app is released under the name “Geometry OU” on Google Play Store.

Kiwi Browser – Features

Let us now see the features of Kiwi Browser which sets it apart from the Game. Since it build on the Chromium project, the look and feel of the browser is identical to Google Chrome, which is a good thing. I always like the simple design with minimal clutter on the homepage or on the settings page. Kiwi is based on the latest Chromium build and it is pretty fast.

Night Mode a.k.a Dark Mode:

This is the most interesting feature of the Kiwi Browser. Kiwi Browser adds support for night mode throughout the web browser. Not all will find this as interesting as some people. I really dig the dark mode feature as i use my phone a lot at night times. Night mode blacks out all the bright backgrounds which makes usage at night easy and at the same time saving our eyes.

Dark mode also saves battery since the displays uses more power to produce white pixels compared to darker pixels. Activating Night Mode on Kiwi Browser is pretty simple.

Click on the Menu ( 3 dots) > Select Turn on night mode . Follow the same steps to turn of the Night Mode when you don’t feel like using it.

Dark mode on some devices might make the texts dull and unreadable in some website. What you can do in such case is to change the Night Mode Contrast level to 101%. To do that :

Powerful Ad-blocker

Kiwi Browser features a powerful ad blocker which Google Chrome doesn’t have. Kiwi’s ad blocker will be able to block most of the intrusive ads that you see on the internet. Well i like to support the website by letting the website display ads. It is not a big deal if the ads are minimal and is not getting in way with the content.

Ad Blocker Turned Off (Left) vs Turned On (Right)

You have the option to enable or disable the ad-blocker right from the Menu. If you feel that the ads on any website is very intrusive and disturbing, Just check the Hide Annoying Ads option. You will be able to see this option when you visit a website and Click on the Menu button.

Kiwi Browser for Android also sports a great popup blocker. I find popup ads the most intrusive of all the ad types. Thanks to Kiwi, most of the popups are blocked which gives us a better user experience when browsing.

Crypto Mining Protection

Kiwi Browser has an inbuilt system to block any kind of Cryptocurrency mining in the background. Over the past few years when cryptocurrencies became more mainstream, many websites started mining them using visitor’s device resources. These websites are embedded with crypto-mining codes which will mine cryptocurrencies in the background with the user’s consent.

Crypto Mining on Google Chrome (Left) vs No Mining in Kiwi (Right)

Kiwi browser blocks all kinds of mining codes on websites. I even tested its working and compared to Google Chrome to see whether it is just a gimmick or not. To my surprise, it actually worked well. You can see from the screenshots that on Kiwi Browser the mining is not taking place while on Google Chrome, mining progress is visible

Better Download Management

Downloading files on Chrome is not that great. We don’t have much control over downloads in Chrome. Whereas in Kiwi Browser, we get more control on Downloads. We have an option to choose the Download location of the files. We can either set the common download location or ask where to save the file each time we download something.

There is support for multiple downloads and pause-resume functionality is also present. Definitely a good feature for download buffs. I still tend to use UC Browser for all my downloads ( Just for Downloads 😉).

Youtube – Background Play

Kiwi Browser allows you to play Youtube videos in the background. In case of Chrome when the browser is minimized the video playback stops. In case of Kiwi Browser, the audio playback can be continued in the background.

Continue playing audio even when the screen is off. It also supports other sites and streaming platforms like Facebook, Vimeo etc.

Google Duplex – Split Toolbar

This is yet another feature that is available in Chromium projects like Google Chrome Canary. Google Duplex is an advanced feature that will split the address bar into two parts :top address bar and bottom controls bar. The top bar is where we can enter the URL or search term. The bottom bar houses the Home button, Search button , Tabs button and the Menu button.

This feature is not enabled by default. It can be accessed by going into the chrome flags settings. Here is how you can activate it.

Enter chrome://flags in the address bar.

Search for Google Duplex

Enable the setting.

Restart the Browser.

Done.

If you are not able to see it even after enabling the flag. Just force stop the app and open it again.

Other features

Block Annoying Notifications.

Block Trackers.

Automatically accept a lot of “Our website is using Cookies” messages

Skip AMP ( Accelerated Mobile Pages) View of websites.

Manage websites that appear on the homescreen.

Add Custom Search Engines very easily ( Just use the search engine a few times and add it in settings).

How to Get Bottom Address Bar on Google Chrome?

If you ever thought if you could get the address bar at the bottom on Google Chrome, well you have to keep thinking because that is not possible(at least for now). But you can do that in Kiwi Browser – yes you can get all the options and tools at a place which can be easily reached.

Phones are getting larger screens and the bezels are getting trimmed down. This means that it get difficult to reach all the corners of the phone with a single hand. This is why the bottom address bar feature can be very useful.

Once you enable bottom address bar, it is way easy to enter URL or search query into the address bar. Switching tabs is a breeze because it’s all down there. We don’t have to strain our fingers and reach the top. Opening a new tab or accessing the menu just became so easy.

Follow the steps to activate bottom address bar:

Click on the Menu Button (3 Dots).

Select Settings.

Click on Accessibility.

Check Bottom Address Bar option.

Relaunch the browser.

Things you will be missing out on

We have seen all the better things that you would get when using Kiwi Browser over Google Chrome, but there are certain things that can make or break your decision when choosing between Kiwi or Chrome.

No Google Account Sync

The major feature that you’ll be missing out on is the Google Sync which allows us to sync our passwords, history and bookmarks on all our devices. This is really a deal breaker for Kiwi since Google doesn’t allow 3rd parties to use the Google Sync feature. I see myself using the saved passwords and bookmarks in my computer and phone quite often.

No Data Saver

Google Chrome has an inbuilt data saver which reduces the data usage. This is especially helpful when the data connection is slow. Google servers compresses the webpage before it is sent to the users device when the data saver is on. This is a great feature which saves up data.

Translate Feature on the Google Chrome is the best. In case of Kiwi, it does have the translate feature but lacks perfection as it seems to open the url in the google translate webpage.

Final Thoughts

Kiwi browser is a great browser without any doubts. It is fast and intuitive. Since it is based in the Chromium project, it has the same UI and feel of Google Chrome. You will be gettings a load of new features in Kiwi. If you are a person who uses Account sync to sync between devices, Kiwi wouldn’t suit you. You will have to stick to Google Chrome. Now don’t get me wrong, Chrome is still the best web browser. Kiwi is a browser worth trying.

If you found the article helpful,do share it among your friends and foes. Also feel free to comment in your thoughts about the Best Web Browser.

Loves anything tech. Loves writing about tech and share the things he knows to the world. Interests include Gaming, Web Designing and is a die hard Pop Music Fan. Fav include Anne Marie, Ed Sheeran. Team #Android.

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